HR NEWS ROUND-UP February 2019

Posted On: 28/02/2019

Deal or no-deal? While this question remains unanswered, uncertainty concerning the employment landscape remains a major issue for UK businesses.

This uncertainty is causing pressure and presenting new challenges to organisations, but at times of change there can also be opportunities. Workforces are at the heart of every business and this will not change, so now is the perfect time to get to know your employees even better and focus on creating an enviable workplace culture. It’s critical to start analysing and planning for the changes ahead and engaging with your teams to remain ahead of the game when it comes to retention and recruitment.

Relocation, relocation, relocation

An Institute of Directors (IoD) survey revealed that 16% of company directors were making plans to move some or all of their business abroad in the event of a no-deal Brexit [1]. Many others have recently publicly expressed their fears concerning their profitability posed by remaining in the UK if a deal is not struck.

Edwin Morgan, IoD interim director general said: “The sectors where most firms were making relocation plans were manufacturing (41%), information and communications (46%) and professional, scientific and technical (41%). Planning in the financial sector was most advanced with 17% having already relocated part of their operations abroad and 14% either considering or planning a move.”

For hundreds of years, London has held the title of being the world’s financial capital but now many of the banks are looking for new EU headquarters [2]. Barclays Bank, BlackRock and JPMorgan Chase have announced that they will join the Bank of America and Citigroup in sending thousands of their UK based employees to Europe.

Attracting talent

The UK hasn’t left the EU yet but already there has been a noticeable impact on the country’s talent pool. Businesses are having to get creative to improve their retention strategies as competition increases.

A recent LinkedIn report has revealed that 39% of UK recruiters have found that EU candidates are reluctant to move to the UK due to the current political volatility. As a result, it’s crucial that companies create a resourcing plan together with strategies to manage the situation, in particular industries who rely on an intake of EU workers such as British agriculture and healthcare sectors.

Support

Brexit anxiety is certainly on the increase in the workplace as not even the experts know what to expect at the end of March. Here’s what you can do to relieve some of the stress:

Ensure your EU workers know that they may be eligible for British citizenship.

Offer to take care of any admin to help retain your EU employers.

Show empathy by listening to concerns and offer support.

Communicate to all employers about the future of your organisation.

Encourage conversation.

Appoint a manager who your employees can turn to and speak openly about their concerns. The answers may not be available just yet but knowing someone cares about their future will ease anxieties.

Impact on HR

All businesses, together with their HR teams, should be preparing for both a deal or no-deal scenario. No-one can predict what will happen on 29 March 2019, but recent news has eluded to the fact that a no-deal is looking more plausible.

With imminent changes ahead, companies will witness an increase to their HR department’s workload. Let’s look at what’s likely to be introduced:

The issue of temporary work visas to EU workers.

The issue of working visas in line with non-EU workers to involve more background checks.

The management of the visas for all EU employees.

For organisations moving some employees to Europe, relocation packages will need to be provided

Organisations must look to invest in a suitable HR database and maintain its content rigorously.

Payroll systems and compliance approaches may need to be adapted.

Potential removal of benefits for EU workers and the possible introduction of social security contributions overseas.

Changes to policies concerning various regulations, such as working time regulations, agency workers, collective consultation rights and TUPE [3].

Now may be a good time to consider outsourcing some or all of your HR functions.

We’re Here To Help

We’ll be keeping a close eye on immigration rules and employee legislation after Brexit to continue to support you through this unsettling and stressful time.

If you need our experienced team of HR professionals to help you with any of your contingency plans or to give your retention policy a spring-clean please call us on 0161 941 2426.